Attaching tool-shanks to handles.



W. RHOBBS. ATTAGHING TOOL SHANKS T0 HANDLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1912.

3 1 9 1 6 2 g H A m m w a P WITNESSES."

' ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATET OFFICE.

WILLIS F. HOBBS, OF BRIDGEIE'ORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THEBRIDGEPORT HARDWARE MANUFACTURING CORPORATION, OF BRIDGEPORT,CONNECTICUT, A

CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

ATTACI-IING TOOL-SHANKS TO HANDLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 26,1913.

T 0 (ZZZ whom 2'15 may concern Be it known that I, lVlLLis F. I-IoBBs, acitizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county ofFairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement inAttaching Tool-Shanks to Handles, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is applicable to various classes of tools in which ashank is attached to a handle, and while adapted to either light orheavy tools is especially adapted to heavy tools upon which great strainis applied in use and there is a tendency toward loosening of the shanksin the handles. It has been common heretofore to provide tools for heavywork in which both tool and handle were forged in a single piece. Toolsmade in this manner, however, do not give the best results for thereason that where tool and handle are forged in one piece it isnecessary to use a relatively low carbon steel, whereas all tools forfine work and especially tools for heavy work require, for the bestresults, to be made from high carbon steel.

The object of the present invention is to provide a high grade tool anda relatively inexpensive handle which may be attached together by aninexpensive operation so firmly that it is impossible under ordinary oreven extraordinary conditions of use to separate the shank from thehandle or even to loosen the handle thereon.

With these ends in view I have produced tools and shanks forged fromhigh carbon steel and handles of malleable cast iron and have devisedthe novel means of attaching the shanks to the handles which I will nowdescribe, referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification and using reference characters to indicate the severalparts.

For convenience in illustration I have shown the invention as applied tothe shank and handle of a screw driver. The principle, however, isequally applicable to various other classes of tools requiring handles.

Figure 1 is a view showing the tool in elevation and the handle inlongitudinal section; Fig. 2 an elevation as seen from either side inFig. 1, a portion of the scale being broken away; Fig. 3 an elevation,the position corresponding with Fig. 1; Fig. 1 an elevation partlybroken away, illustrating a slightly variant form of construction of ascrew driver adapted for the heaviest kind of work; and Fig. 5 is anelevation corresponding with Fig. 2, showing the shank and handleassembled but not locked together, the tang being reduced in diameter toform a shoulder at the junction of the tang and shank.

The handle comprises a butt 10, a web 11 and a head 12, which may be asingle malleable iron casting, and scales 13, ordinarily of wood,secured to the web by rivets 1 1.

15 denotes the shank of a tool, which may be round as in Figs. 1, 2, 3and 5, or polygonal, or square as in Fig. 4.. At the end of the shank isan angular (preferably square) tang, indicated by 16. The head isprovided with an angular longitudinal hole 17 extending into atransverse dove-tail recess 18 in the web which is covered by the scale.In the form illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, the head is shown asprovided with a socket 19 which receives a portion of the shank. In theform illustrated in Fig. 4c, in which the greatest possible strength isrequired, the shank is provided with a bevel shoulder 20 which runs intothe tang and the end of the head is countersunk to provide a shoulderthat surrounds the entrance to the angular opening 17 said shoulderbeing beveled and forming a seat for the beveled shoulder 20 of theshank.

In assembling, the tang is passed into the head, the end shoulder of theshank proper seating itself on the base of the socket, as in Fig. 1, oron the beveled shoulder, as in Fig. 4, and the end of the tang extendinginto the transverse recess in the web, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5.The end of the tang (which is considerably thicker than the web) is thensubjected to a heavy blow, which flattens and expands the end of thetang causing it to fill the dove-tail recess and making the shank, headand Web as solid and rigid as if forged in a single piece. After theattachment of the shank to the head and web, the scales are attached, asalready described.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, I have shown the tangand web so arranged relatively to each other that the blow is receivedupon a side of the tang. In Fig. l, the tang and handle are so arrangedthat the blow is received upon an angle of thg tang. These are detailsof construction that may be varied Without departing from the principleof the invention, the gist of which lies in. locking the tang to the Webby flattening the end of the tang into a dovetail recess in the Web.

Having thus described my invention 1 claim:

1. In combination, a handle comprising an integral head and Web, saidhead having an angular longitudinal hole extending into the Web andmerging With a larger dove-tail recess therein, and a tool. shank havingan angulartang thicker than the Web, said tang passing through the holein the head and being flattened and expanded in the dovetail recess tolock the parts rigidly together.

2. In combination a handle comprising an integral head and Web, saidhead having a socket in its outer end and an angular longi. tudinal holeleading therefrom and merging with a larger dove-tail recess in the Web,and a tool shank having a shoulder engaging the base of the socket andan angular tang engaging the longitudinal hole and thicker than the Web,said tang passing through the hole in the head and being flattened andexpanded in the dove-tail recess to look the parts rigidly together.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

lVILLIS F. HOBBS. Witnesses A. M. Woos'rniz, S. ATI-IERTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C.

